Two UK virus writers banged up

Two UK men have received jail terms for conspiring to create a computer worm for an international hacking group.

Jordan Bradley, a 22-year-old electrician from Darlington, was sentenced to three months at Newcastle Crown Court after pleading guilty to "unauthorised modifications to the contents of computers with the intent to impair the operation".

Andrew Harvey, an unemployed 23-year-old from Durham, was sentenced to six months after pleading guilty to the same charges.

The two were identified by the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU) as members of the hacking group "THr34t Krew".

The self-replicating virus, known as the TK worm, created a rogue network of compromised PCs that Justice Bolton said was "unquantifiable". The hackers were able to control the network and use it to perform denial of service attacks on websites, police said.

Detective superintendent Mick Deats, deputy head of the NHTCU, said in a statement: "Over the past year, the National Hi-Tech Crime Unit has seen a sustained increase in the professionalism of cyber criminals. Companies are taking the brunt of their attempts to steal money and data but consumers are also being hit. I hope that these sentences deliver a tough message."

Bradley and Harvey were arrested in February 2003 at the same time as the 21-year-old American Raymond Stegerwalt. Stegerwalt was sentenced to 21 months in jail and fined $12,000 by the US Department of Defense, which said it suffered damages from the worm.